This two yearlong project which I started in 2017, is a continuation of the prior series on Immigration that began in 2016.
Both of these projects were in response to the anti-immigrant and anti-Islam rhetoric after the 2016 presidential elections.
In “Faces of Islam”, I intended to portray the San Antonio Muslim community as a microcosm of the larger world community of Muslims.
I have photographed people of all walks of life, many of whom transplanted to San Antonio from almost anywhere in the world. In this portrayal, I wanted to show that these individuals living in the community are just like anyone else – they’re our neighbors, co-workers, classmates, etc. They just happen to practice Islam as their religion.
By the end of 2019, this project was finished and was slated to be funded and permanently housed at the Institute of Texan Cultures. However Covid-19 Pandemic changed all that.
In 2021 I received the individual artist grant from the City of San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture, which has enabled me to finally bring this series to the public.